An adorable red bench !

This beautiful bench, originally was a brown boring bench from a breakfast nook set. After some serious sanding and replacing the hardware, it became a jewel to our store. It was made in a shabby chic style with distressed edges. I added some roses on the back panels to make it more glamorous. It sold fast and now it decorates a beautiful house in Idyllwild, CA.

 

 

Ready bench in the store

roses painting  detail, and on the right side you can see the original stamp of the company that made the bench back in 1950's

The brown color inside was the original color of the whole thing.  I found it to be in a nice contrast with the red

 the bench in the store

 


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 Emmanuel & Sky www.artfulruins.com

A vintage Formica laminate dresser changed its looks for good!

This dresser with 10 drawers was a big challenge. It looked OK, and I though that was going to be an easy job. I was so wrong!the top was Formica, in a very bad condition which needed to be removed. After many trips to home improvement stores, we found the right piece, which was going to replace the ugly Formica.. I sanded it down all over and I used some natural brown stain to give this walnut color.



veneer hot tape for the edges to complete the look

Add caption

 

 

 

 

 

once the dresser was dry from the stain, I start painting on the top a beautiful symmetric design ...

 

 

 

once the painting was done, the dresser left alone to rest for couple of days. 

At the end I put 4 coats of glossy varnish  (12 hours between each coat)

 

 

 

finishing the details

I used the same hardware , beautiful Americana style..

 

and ready!

 

If you have any questions regarding a piece of furniture that you want to give a different look, don't hesitate to contact us. I will be more than happy to give you some suggestions





Emmanuel & Sky www.arfulruins.com

1920's dining set! Like new!

Hi all! 

 

This is the awesome 1920's dining table we have at the store! The design I did on the surface matches the new upholstery.

the table in the store

 

but.. The table was not in the best condition when it arrived to our hands.. Was like this : 

 

 

 

 

chairs in original condition. preety bad huh?

the plain surface of the table, in bad condition as well..

 

 

 

 

We stripped down the table and chairs from all colors and removed the old upholstery. Then we found this beautiful fabric for the chairs.

 

I used all natural dyes to give to the wood this beautiful walnut color, and then painted on the surface this original design that we wanted to match the chairs. After several layers of good varnish the table was ready.

 

 

This dining set is up for sale at:

 www.artfulruins.com

Emmanuel & Sky

What does Art mean to you?

Art to me is imagination, it is life, the memories and the most creative way to express ones feelings and peoples thoughts and to express them widely open so everyone can see, admire, and even judge.

To me Art is about wonderment, the time taken and used to create something that cause people to stop and stare and maybe to try and understand the process of thought someone took in creating this piece of art.


Art is based on the very basic need of human nature to be "together", with others, with nature, with itself.
Art makes our lives infinitely rich, stimulates different parts of our brain and gives us a way to be creative, to express the feelings that words cannot describe, to give a form of "reality" to your dreams..
some one else said for art : "For me, it gives a good reason to get out of the bed in the morning."


 Art speaks to everyone. the problem is who can hear what art is saying?


 Art reflects life. But how many of us could see it in this blurriness of every days problems? Stop and stare at an art piece. Think as you used to think when you were a child. When your mind was full of colors and smiles. See the life now?


Emmanuel

A small gallery to host the Art!

I always needed a space to host my art. even I have had many art shows and exhibitions, I always wanted to be my space which I can make as I really like. Finally, I found this space. a small cute place in San Diego, between normal heights, North Park and University Heights! A dear artist, friend of mine, Shirley, told us- to me an my partner- about a  space available next to her store, last August. We thought about it.. for 10 minutes! !0 minutes of thinking for a serious commitment. some people called us crazy, I know that! but we did it! with a lot of effort, sweat, and much work our little gallery was having a grand opening on October 4th 2013!  I couldn't believe that in such a small period of time we were ready. It took us  and a half month to make the store "livable and lovable" to remind a home, or a living room.. 500 square feet, of awesomeness.. !

 To choose a name for your space, isn't an easy task. many names came along. we wrote them on paper, erased them, did combinations of our names, memories, things that meant something to us. for almost a week the sleep wasn't visit me; only words and more words, some funny, some ordinary, some meaningless. Until the name was found. the combination of what we really love! ARTFUL RUINS! because in the ruins u can find art, or create art, or preserve the existed art.

If you want, you can visit our web page at : www.artfulruins.com and why not to check us on Facebook!  Our little space, contains, art. all kinds of Art, not only mine, also from others. Also, you can find there handmade items, re-crafted treasures from some other eras, vintage and collectibles.
 We tried hard, and we are very pleased with the results. in there , we have what we love most; colors, desire, and feelings. Because Art is all three, and you can add a third element; LOVE !!